The Plank and the Prank
by Dizziness
Summary: Rated PG-13 for a bit of cursing... -- The marauders, Lily, and the others all head back to Hogwarts! Lily hasn't adjusted to the whole 'girlfriend' thing yet. James isn't going to give up on her though! At least they're friends. Now he wants more though.


**The Plank and the Prank**

**Written By: Dizziness**

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Disclaimer: Yes, I do _not_ own James Potter, Lily Evans, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, ect. The only character that I will be mentioning in this chapter that was _not_ created by J.K. Rowling, is Sarah Paramore. I am creating her as of...now. P

Author's Note: Muah! I needed to escape from my other fanfic. I had some nice reviews, but in all honesty, I think I can't just make _one_ fanfic at a time. xP

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It was a humid afternoon in Surrey. The residents all tried to escape the heat by placing their chairs directly in front of their air conditioners as they attempted to cool off. However, unless you were Lily Evans, you failed. And the true reason that Lily was actually having the plan work was the mere fact that she had been chucked in the face by ice cubes from her sister, Petunia only minutes ago. The ice had melted slightly as it pounded against her warm, fairly-tanned skin, and now the small breeze was pushing the water. Gah, but her face was still in pain from the ice cubes... And Petunia hadn't been intending to _help_ Lily what-so-ever...

Petunia and Lily had never gotten along before. And that wouldn't be starting anytime soon. Definately not. They were too different - or maybe they weren't... They were both stubborn, right? Petunia was lying on her bead, moaning about things like, 'Oh! We're all going to die! It's too hot!'

From all the way downstairs, Lily heard her. "Bloody drama queen..." She panted. All the windows were open, trying to let cool air in, but there was only the devilish steamy air that flowed through Surrey today. It was odd. It was usually much cooler. Why, if it hadn't been for James's owl, Perdicuf, flying in at that moment, she thought that she could loose enough of her mind as to sink to the level of Petunia and beg her parents to give her an igloo.

"Perdicuf! Come here! Oh, Perdicuf, come on!!!" Lily abandoned her seat and ran after that bird. James Potter and Lily had been very close at the end of their sixth year. James still hadn't given up on Lily - but somehow, even though Lily admitted that she liked him, they kept swaying from friends to boyfriend/girlfriend. That was probably Lily's fault, actually. She had never really been too sincere as she said, 'I love you,' it was more of just a type of thing you'd hear from a friend. Oh well. She had her whole seventh year ahead of herself in order to clear it all up.

Perdicuf was swooping around Lily's head. It seemed that Perdicuf was as stubborn as his troublesome owner, James...

Lily jumped up, trying to snatch the letter. "PERDI! GIVE - ME - THAT - LETTER!" She yelled. Her parents had heard, but were too hot to even think to move. Petunia only screamed, "SHUT-UP, BRAT!" Such a nice family... Finally, Perdicuf decided to give the letter over. Lily grinned, as if she had won a battle, then opened the letter. Perdicuf watched intently, as if waiting for her to write a reply or to simply shoo him. Lily read:

_Dear Lily,_

_Sorry that I haven't written you for the past two months... Three more days to go and then I'll see you at Hogwarts! I've been busy here at the estate. My mum thinks I should make sure that I know every detail about whatever possible job I might have. I say that she's paranoid!!! My dad, on the other hand, is just sort of... erm, how should I describe him when he's been sleeping about 20 hours a day? Lazy bum..._

Lily laughed as she read this. Heh. James must have received that 'lazy' trait from his father!

_Sirius came over for a while... Oi! Did you know that he has his own place now? It was bound to happen anyway. He never had a real liking for that family of his. As for Remus, I think he's just relaxing back at home. And then for Peter... I'm not sure. I haven't heard from him. But, enough about all of us. How are you? _

_Love, _

_James_

Lily blinked. So Sirius had already moved out? God... Time was passing by so quickly! She took out a clean peice of parchment and wrote:

_Dear James,_

_It's alright - about not writing. I didn't really write either, I'm sorry to say. And when you start talking about job research and all, I'm starting to feel behind. What are you researching on? I'm still a little scattered when it comes to actually choosing a career. _

_About you dad being lazy, you're not exactly that one who should be talking..._

_Oh, actually, I didn't know about Sirius's move. Have you seen the new place? Was it nice? _

_I miss you!!! I think I'm looking forward to being at Hogwarts for a different reason this year: I'll get to see you and your friends! And all of those other crazy wizards and witches. I love you! Bye!_

_-Lily_

And then Perdicuf was off to deliver that letter. Lily raced back to her seat, collapsing down into it and putting her face in front of it, "ARGHH!!! MAKE IT SNOW! MAKE IT RAIN! MAKE IT CCCOOOLLLLLDDDD!!!"

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Meanwhile, James Potter had just bid farewell to Sirius. He turned from the great oak doors of the Potter's huge estate and then traveled up to his bedroom. He walked through the open doorway, closing the door behind him, then letting himself fall onto his bed. He was surrounded by Quidditch Posters, essays due from three years ago, and the usual types of things you would find in such a boy's - nearly man's room! An empty cage where his owl Perdicuf stayed had it's door open. Perdicuf, Perd, Cuf, or Perdi for short was delivering a letter to Lily.

Lily Evans... That name always sent James into a some-what dreamy state. It was quite odd - actually, sickening to some people! That's just obsessive - or is it _love_?

At that moment, Perdicuf tapped on James's window. He had another letter on his leg. Great! James grinned. Lily had replied. He took the letter off of the barn owl's foot, then read it to himself. His smile grew bigger. Lily missed him! Score for James!

He wrote back, then sent a rather annoyed Perdicuf back off on flight to Lily's house again.

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Lily received the letter, and smiled warmly. No! Not warmly! This reminded her of the heat... Gah. Nice going...

She opened up the envelope, reading over the letter:

_Dear Lily, _

_You'll know what I'm studying (for once, I know...) when we see eachother next time... probably. My mum will probably make me drag along those books. Damn. How do you actually read those?! I swear, one's the size of a swine... And hey, I may be lazy at times, but you are too, Lils!_

_Of course I've seen Sirius's new place. It's great. Nothing too big though. His blasted parents refused to let him use any part of their fortune... Ack. Whatever. He makes loads anyway!_

_Love you too, Lils. Remember, this year you owe me a dance. I didn't hex Sni- scratch that... SNAPE at the end of year dance! Ha. Told you that I'd remember to get my prize._

_Love you._

_James_

_P.S. I'll see you at the station! I'll save you a seat._

Lily smiled, reading the letter over once more before replying shortly, '_Alright, see you there, James!' and sending Perdicuf back to James's house one last time._

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A/N: This is just the beginning! Think of it as an introduction to the actual story. . It's too late here, I'm getting too tired to begin, so I'll leave it at this point until later. Maybe I can catch people's interest! Review! Review! REVIEW!!! 


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